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Feltz Family Farms to host annual dairy brunch

Full-time employee Kelly Sankey, from left, Jake Feltz, Jared Feltz and Ken Feltz stand in front of Feltz Family Farms, the host farm for the Portage County June Dairy Brunch and Open Farm on Saturday.
(Photo:
Andy Davis/Stevens Point Journal Media
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PLOVER – Ken and Jackie Feltz have raised dairy cattle at Feltz Family Farms in Plover since 1995. They started with 50 cattle, and since have grown their herd to 550 Holstein cattle. Work occupies seven days a week, including weekends and holidays, Ken Feltz said.

On Saturday, the Feltz family will have the opportunity to show visitors to their farm what it is they and their 11 full-time employees work so hard to produce during the 35th annual dairy brunch and open house, sponsored by the Portage County Dairy Committee Inc.

This is the second time the farm will serve as host to the annual event. In 1998, the farm, then called Feltz Dairy Farm, hosted the event for the first time. That was three years after Ken and Jackie Feltz carried the farm into the fourth generation. Ken Feltz said he’s glad he was asked to host the brunch again.

“In a lot of ways it’s a big honor to be asked to host the brunch,” Ken Feltz said. “It’s very family-oriented, and we hope to see around 3,000 people there.”

The menu includes pancakes, eggs, sausage, fresh cheese curds, juice, pure maple syrup and milk. The event also will feature hay rides, small animals, an education tent, a little farmer dress-up contest, dairy Jeopardy, radio broadcasting, a cow coloring contest, a kids Kindschi pedal pull and prizes. Registration for the pedal pull will take place from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The dairy brunch and open farm is a valuable educational tool, said Donna Altmann, co-chairwoman of the dairy committee, who has worked with the committee since it was created 35 years ago. Altmann said the event is a way to promote the dairy industry and to educate people, especially children, about where their food comes from.

“This brunch is great for education of the future generation,” Altmann said. “It’s a way to show them where that glass of milk on the table comes from.”

The first open farm took place in 1980 at Roth Acres, Altmann said, but did not feature a brunch. Altmann said brunch first was served in 1983. Since then, Altmann said, the event has grown significantly.

The education tent has expanded and will house around 15 groups with displays, including performances of “Dairymen the Moo-sical,” a history display of Feltz Family Farms, a table for the Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum and free strawberry ice cream sundaes for visitors.

“It has really grown,” Altmann said. “It’s always an eye-opener for the children; they just love it. It’s a great day to get the family together and talk to the farmers.”

Ken and Jackie Feltz’s oldest son, Jared, who graduated a year ago from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, hopes to one day carry the farm into the fifth generation. He said he and his family appreciate the support they have received from their neighbors.

“We really appreciate their understanding of what living next to a dairy farm entails,” Jared Feltz said.

Feltz Family Farms also will host Wisconsin Farm Technology Days in August, which is anticipated to draw a crowd of between 30,000 to 40,000 people.

Andy Davis can be reached at 715-345-2253. Find him on Twitter as @SPJAndyDavis.

If you go:

What: Portage County June Dairy Brunch and Open Farm

When: 8 a.m. to noon Saturday

Where: Feltz Family Farms, 5796 Porter Drive, Plover

Cost: Brunch costs $6 for adults, $2 for youths ages 6 to 10 and free for children 5 years and younger